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By RUSTY AYERS

A guide to historic Illinois: Revisiting past for perspective on today's economic, social and political problems

Residents of the northwestern Illinois town of Galena tell a story about their favorite son, Ulysses S. Grant. The famous general was visiting his hometown during the Civil War when a group of local loungers clustered around a glowing potbelly stove and asked him what war was like.

"War is hell," Grant said, using the line his friend and fellow general William Tecumseh Sherman would later make famous.

"And what's hell like?" prompted one of the idlers.

"About the same as here," Grant said. "Biggest talkers are sitting closest to the fire."

The story is a good reminder that despite today's tough times, Illinois life in the 1990s is vastly superior to that of our Prairie State ancestors; a mere recession pales into insignificance when compared to the flames of Civil War. If modem-day economic woes, political scandals and social unrest have got you down, take a tip from Grant and put your problems in perspective with a visit to one or more of Illinois' historic sites. Some examples:

Photos by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
Cahokia Mounds

Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site

Black Hawk

Black Hawk State Historic Site

Lincoln's Tomb

Lincoln's Tomb State Historic Site

• Illinois' largest city is decaying because of political indifference, environmental stress and social upheaval. Chicago? No, it's Cahokia 1,000 years ago.

• State lawmakers spend much of their time passing bills to benefit special-interest groups, as well as mammoth public works projects that virtually bankrupt the state treasury. It happened in the 1830s, and one of the lawmakers with his hand in the pork barrel was Rep. Abraham Lincoln.

• A bitter strike throws thousands out of work and devastates an industrial town. It's not Peoria, but the now-defunct factory town of Pullman in 1894.

Now's a good time to revisit Illinois' past, but you'd better be quick. Five sites — the Dana-Thomas House, Postville Courthouse, Mount Pulaski Courthouse, Cahokia Courthouse and Shawneetown Bank — fell victim to the January budget ax and were slated to close from March through June.

Finally, consider it your civic duty to leave your suburban sprawl, urban decay or rural decline and travel to another part of Illinois. Although President Bush would probably prefer that you buy a new car, the gasoline (still at relatively cheap, post-Gulf War prices) you buy and the fast-food burgers you'll buy and consume on the road will stimulate the economy and put sales tax revenues into government coffers. If you plan an overnight trip, stay at a state park lodge and reminisce how the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps built the the core buildings, now renovated and expanded with pools, etc. The Department of Conservation runs the state park system. For more information, call the department at (217) 782-7454 or (312) 814-2070. Any travel on state roads is one way to get a return on the taxes you've paid to build them. Free road maps are available from the Illinois Department of Transportation; call (217) 782-6953 or (312) 793-2250.

We've listed the best of Illinois' historic sites in this handy guide in historical order. Most are run by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, which spends less in a year ($11.3 million in fiscal 1992) than the Department of Public Aid spends in a single day. The agency can provide free brochures and more detailed information on special events at most sites — call (217) 785-0348 — or use this guide to save on the state's promotion budget. Happy traveling!

18/February 1992/Illinois Issues


Attendance at sites run by Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 1989-1990

 

1989 1990
Lincoln's New Salem 573,471 599,672
Cahokia Mounds 218,114 503,407
Lincoln Tomb 327,515 305,582
Vietnam Veterans Mem'l 298,396 228,753
Old State Capitol 217,403 200,334
Ulysses S. Grant Home 157,720 166,305
Black Hawk 141,994 142,019
Lincoln Log Cabin 118,745 124,748
Jubilee College 118,194 107,912
Fort Kaskaskia 83,857 88,171
Fort De Chartres 78,470 80,150
Bishop Hill Colony 72,498 75,514
Old Market House 62,809 70,722
Dana-Thomas House* 8,471 59,798
Pierre Menard Home 54,182 56,175
Vandalia Statehouse 27,855 30,820
Lincoln-Herndon Law Off. 51,325 29,708
Stephen Douglas Tomb 29,948 23,348
Cahokia Courthouse 12,783 21,607
Carl Sandburg Home 11,296 14,642
Metamora Courthouse 11,532 11,872
Shawneetown Bank 12,715 11,445
Bryant Cottage 8,263 8,016
Postville Courthouse 6,426 5,940
Mount Pulaski Courthouse 3,958 4,418
Vachel Lindsay Home** 1,343

 

David Davis Mansion*** 9,908

 

*Closed part of 1989 for renovation.
**Not acquired by state until 1990.
***Closed for renovation until 1992.

Source: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

With a nod to our Lincoln heritage, we've adopted a stovepipe hat rating system:

[HTML Editor's note: Due to the difficulty of converting the stovepipes to HTML, the stovepipes have been replaced with the ‡ symbol and the half-stovepipes with the + symbol.]

‡‡‡‡ Must-see for everyone. Worth an overnight trip.

‡‡‡ Make a day trip to see.

‡‡ Worth a stop if you're in the neighborhood.

‡ The state spent money on this?

* The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency on January 22 announced plans to close these sites from March until June 30. Plans could change or some could open intermittently, so call before you visit.

‡‡‡ Illinois State Museum, Spring and Edwards Sts., Springfield; Mon-Sat, 8:30am-5pm; Sun, noon-5pm; (217) 782-7386. The museum is a natural starting point for any Illinois history tour. The museum features excellent life-size dioramas of the state's current and former native animals, including the skeleton of a mastodon. Upstairs, the "Peoples of the Past" exhibit uses dioramas to show the progression of Illinois Indian tribes. Before visiting, check to see what's being shown in the museum's third-floor art gallery.

‡‡‡‡ Cahokia Mounds, Collinsville Rd. off I-255, Collinsville; 9am-5pm; (618) 346-5160. A new $8.2 million museum opened in 1989 celebrates the southern Illinois site of one of the world's great cities: the 1,000-year-old ruins of the ancient metropolis archaeologists call Cahokia, whose real name has been lost to history.

With more than 20,000 residents in its city center and suburbs, Cahokia was the trading capital and seat of power for a far-flung network of villages that stretched the length and breadth of the Mississippi valley. In 1250, the city was larger than London; there was not a larger city in the United States until 1800, when the population of Philadelphia passed 30,000.

Then as now, the landscape is dominated by a huge earthen pyramid that was the largest man-made structure in North America before its European colonization. Thousands of workers built the great mound over a 300-year period as a home and ceremonial place for the city's ruler. It is now called Monks' Mound.

The visitors' center features a pair of beautifully sculpted bronze doors that open into a spacious, airy concourse with a floor-to-ceiling panoramic view of Monks' Mound and many of the 68 remaining mounds on the 4,000-acre site. Farming and urban sprawl have destroyed about half of ancient Cahokia's 120 original mounds, which were built as foundations for important buildings or to cover ceremonial burial areas.

A simple but effective lighted model puts the entire city into perspective; kids will enjoy pressing buttons that send lights racing around the model to outline various features of the village. The visitors' center also features a moving slide show with a surprise twist that literally puts you inside a modern reproduction of the ancient city.

Outside the museum, visitors can take walking tours of the extensive mounds area, including Monks' Mound and Woodhenge, a reconstructed solar observatory made of upright logs, similar to Stonehenge in England.

‡‡+ Dickson Mounds, Ill. Rtes. 97 and 78, Lewistown; 8:30am-5pm; (309) 547-3721. Tourists who haven't visited Cahokia Mounds probably won't understand why Native Americans fought to close this museum (see "The Dilemma of Dickson Mounds," Illinois Issues, December 1990) which sits on the site of a Mississippian city believed to be a colony of the original Cahokia settlement. The centerpiece of the museum and the focus of controversy is a gallery where visitors can view the skeletons of 234 Mississippian Indians lying as they did when amateur archeologist Don Dickson unearthed the burial mound more than 65 years ago.

Bowing to pressure from museum professionals and Native American groups, Gov. Jim Edgar has announced plans to close the burial exhibit April 4. The graves will be sealed and then covered with a reconstructed earthen mound. The governor promised a $4 million renovation that will include a state-of-the-art audiovisual presentation and updated exhibit displays similar to those at Cahokia Mounds.

‡‡+ Black Hawk State Historic Site, 1510 46th Ave, Rock Island; 8:30am-noon, lpm-4:30pm; closed Mon-Tues, Nov-Feb; (309) 788-0177. The lives of Illinois' native peoples changed forever after French missionaries and explorers began settling in the state. Located on the banks of the Rock River near the former capital of the Sauk nation, the Hauberg Indian Museum uses displays and full-size dioramas to interpret Sauk and Mesquakie tribal life from 1750 to 1832, when white settlers routed the Sauk warrior Black Hawk's brief effort to regain his tribe's former Illinois lands. The former state park also features a prairie cemetery, an amphitheater, a nature preserve and miles of beautiful hiking trails.

*‡‡ Cahokia Courthouse, 107 Elm St., Cahokia; 9am-5pm; closed Tues-Wed, Nov-Feb; (618) 332-1782. This is one of the oldest state historic sites celebrating Illinois' French colonial heritage and also one of the most-traveled: The building was taken apart, moved and rebuilt several times over the years before the state returned it to its original foundation.

French was the language of choice when the first white settlers came to the Illinois country in 1698. Built in the traditional French post-on-foundation style in 1737, the log structure was originally used as a

Pierre Menard Home Lincoln Log Cabin Vandalia State House Jubilee College
Pierre Menard Home State Historic Site Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site Vandalia State House State Historic Site Jubilee College State Historic Site

February 1992/Illinois Issues/19


residence. Museum exhibits now explain the legal wranglings of the state's litigious first European settlers.

‡‡‡ Fort de Chartres, Ill. Rte. 155, Prairie du Rocher; 9am-5pm; (618) 284-7230. The fort represents the peak of French power in what was then known as the Illinois Country, where the agriculturally rich Mississippi bottomlands and its lucrative fur trade attracted white settlers just as it had the Native Americans. The French soon realized a strong military presence was needed to protect the area from marauding tribes and the British.

The reconstructed Fort de Chartres was the last of four bastions the French established on the Mississippi between 1718 and 1753. British troops occupied the fort after the close of the French and Indian War, abandoning it in 1772.

Today, tourists can view a reconstructed portion of the fort's massive stone walls and the original powder magazine built in 1753, the oldest structure in the state. A guardhouse, commandant's quarters and trading post have also been rebuilt, and a small museum has exhibits on French military life. The best time to visit is when authentically attired military reenactors show up for weekend encampments to recreate battles from the the French and Indian War. Major encampments are scheduled April 4-5, June 6-7, Oct 3-4 and Nov 7-8.

‡‡‡‡ George Rogers Clark National Monument, 401 S. 2nd St., Vincennes. Ind.; 9am-5pm; (812) 882-1776. Ironically, this monument that celebrates Illinois' entry into the United States is located in Indiana. It memorializes the Virginia general's 1778 raid that seized from the British the territory of modem-day Illinois, Indiana and several other Midwest states.

The site's huge marble memorial is the largest federally run monument west of Washington, D.C. A movie and exhibits at the visitors' center explain dark's exploits. Nearby is Grouseland, the restored home of former Indiana territorial governor and U.S. President William Henry Harrison.

‡‡ Fort Kaskaskia, R.R. 1, Ellis Grove; dawn-10pm; (618) 859-3741. Located on a scenic bluff with an incredible view of the Mississippi River valley, the park offers visitors the opportunity to scramble over the grass-covered ruins of the old French fort and look down on the former site of Kaskaskia, Illinois' first capital city.

Founded in 1703, the town became the territorial capital in 1809 and the state capital in 1818. But the city declined after the capital moved to Vandalia two years later, and it was destroyed entirely when the river changed course and submerged it in 1881. Reads a plaque at the site: "Thus the role played by Kaskaskia in the great drama of history closed in tragedy."

‡‡‡ Pierre Menard Home, R.R. 1, Ellis Grove; 9am-5pm; (618) 859-3031. Just downhill from Fort Kaskaskia's ruins stands the restored home of Menard, a prosperous French merchant and Illinois' first lieutenant governor, who began building the home in 1800. Now known as the "Mt. Vernon of the West," the long, low wooden home with its wide porch is an outstanding example of Southern French colonial architecture. Menard's rich wallpapers, rugs and furniture reflect a luxurious lifestyle much different from the bare-bones existence tourists can see at the next site.
Bishop Hill
Bishop Hill State Historic Site
Mount Pulaski
Mount Pulaski Courthouse State Historic Site
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Metamora Courthouse State Historic Site
ii9202188.jpg
Old State Capitol State Historic Site
ii9202189.jpg
Stephen Douglas Tomb State Historic Site
ii92021810.jpg
Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices State Historic Site

‡‡‡‡ Lincoln's New Salem, R.R. 1, Petersburg; 9am-5pm summer, 8am-4pm winter; (217) 632-7953. The state's most-visited historic site, New Salem was where the young Abraham Lincoln was a shopkeeper. postmaster and militia officer for six years. He represented the area in the General Assembly in 1834 after an unsuccessful campaign in 1832, and he left the village in 1837 to practice law in Springfield. The town was all but abandoned by the 1840s after the county seat of Menard County was moved to nearby Petersburg.

Lovingly reconstructed more than 50 years ago, the village now looks much as it must have when Lincoln arrived in 1831, with more than 25 authentically reconstructed and furnished log homes, stores and workshops clustered atop a heavily wooded ridge.

New Salem is a must-see on any Illinois historic tour and is one of the few state historic sites where camping is permitted. During the summer, the park also features steamboat rides on the nearby Sangamon River and after-dark theatrical performances about the former president. It's a lovely site for a weekend picnic, particularly when costumed interpreters are on hand to bring the cabins to life.

Although a $4.7 million renovation of the park is virtually complete, it's not been done without some complaints. Some repeat visitors say the modernistic new visitors' center scheduled to open this spring is out of character for the rustic village; others don't like the new restaurant that replaced an older lodge across the road from the park.

‡‡+ Vandalia Statehouse, 315 W. Gallatin, Vandalia; 9am-5pm; (618) 283-1161. Lincoln received his law license and learned his first political lessons at the Vandalia Statehouse. Built in 1836, the Capitol had been standing only three years when the General Assembly decided to move the seat of government to Springfield. Historians still disagree on whether Lincoln and his cronies engineered the move by trading votes on other lawmakers' bills — including a massive pork-barrel bill that distributed public works projects throughout the state.

Although visitors will enjoy the restored House and Senate chambers inside, lovers of Federalist architecture might not appreciate the columned portico on the front of the building, an add-on from the 1860s.

‡‡‡ Jubilee College Historic Site, R.R. 2. Brimfield; 9am-5pm; (309) 243-9489. Near Peoria, the site highlights one of the state's first institutions of higher education, a seminary and boarding school founded in 1840 by the overbearing Philander Chase, the first Episcopal bishop of Illinois. Furnished with authentic reproductions of 19th century bunk beds, desks and chairs, the restored dormitory and classroom should be an eye-opening experience for modern-day children. The dark wood and whitewashed walls of the

20/February 1992/Illinois Issues


Ulysses S. Grant Home
Ulysses S. Grant Home State Historic Site
David Davis Mansion
David Davis Mansion State Historic Site
Dana-Thomas House
Dana-Thomas House State Historic Site

college's Gothic Revival chapel have become a popular site for weddings. Medieval lords and ladies also frolic amid the trees of the parklike campus each June during the annual Olde English Faire.

‡‡‡+ City of Old Nauvoo, Young and Main Sts., Nauvoo; 9am-6pm; (217) 453-2237; and

‡‡+ Carthage Jail Museum, 307 Walnut St., Carthage; 9am-415pm: (217) 357-2989. These are two of Illinois' most significant historic sites but also two of the least-known. Located in far western Illinois, they tell the bloody and tragic tale of the Mormon exodus from the Prairie State.

With more than 12,000 Mormon residents in 1839, Nauvoo was one of Illinois' largest cities. But the town was largely abandoned by 1846, two years after a non-Mormon mob killed church founder Joseph Smith and his brother when they traveled to Carthage to answer charges of murder, treason and arson.

Plan on spending at least a day in Nauvoo, where missionaries from the modem-day Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints maintain 24 buildings from the old city, including homes owned by Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. The Carthage Jail is virtually unchanged from the day Joseph and Hyrum Smith died there — right down to the bullet holes in the door and bloodstains that 150 years of time can't erase from the floor of an upstairs bedroom.

Slide shows and movies at both sites tell the story of Smith's life and church members' trek to Utah after his death. Mission groups also put on nighttime musical shows in Nauvoo during the summer months.

‡‡‡‡ Bishop Hill Colony, Ill. Rte. 78, Bishop Hill: 9am-5pm; hotel museum closed Mon-Tues, Nov-Feb: (309) 927-3345. The same year the Mormons left Nauvoo, a new band of religious dissenters came to the state from Sweden to set up its Utopian community of Bishop Hill. Although the communal colony dissolved in 1861, its settlers and their buildings remained, and the Swedish culture still permeates the city of 250 residents.

The state operates four museums in Bishop Hill, including the colony's church and hotel. Exhibits in the three-story Steeple Building give insights into the social and religious conditions that made the dissenters leave Scandinavia, as well as the hardships they endured as they emigrated to their adopted country. A newly built visitors' center shows everyday life in the village through the paintings of world-renowned folk artist Olaf Krans, who grew up in Bishop Hill.

The village is also a center for local artisans and craftspeople. Gift shops and bakeries occupy some of the privately owned colony buildings still standing. The best time to absorb Bishop Hill's fascinating sights, sounds and smells is during the fall "Jordbruksdagama" festival in September or during the Christmas season, when the traditional Swedish festival of St. Lucia bathes the village with candlelight.

‡‡+ Metamora Courthouse, 113 E. Partridge, Metamora; 9am-5pm; (309) 367-4470;

*‡‡ Mount Pulaski Courthouse, Ill. Rte. 121, city square, Mt. Pulaski; 9am-5pm; closed Mon-Tues, Nov-Feb; (217) 792-3919; and

*‡+ Postville Courthouse, 5th St., Lincoln; 9am-5pm; closed Mon-Tues, Nov-Feb; (217) 732-8930.

As the Bishop Hill settlers were beginning their new life in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln was building his reputation as an attorney on central Illinois' 8th Judicial Circuit, riding twice a year from city to city to argue cases. Although the three courthouses from the 1840s and 1850s offer an interesting insight into the early years of Lincoln's legal career, they are among the least-visited historic sites in the state system. The courthouses were among several sites the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency considered shutting down last July to save funds; instead it closed the Mt. Pulaski and Postville sites on Mondays and Tuesdays during the winter months.

The courthouses feature restored courtrooms and county offices; if you can only visit one, make it the Metamora Courthouse. Metamora offers the best exhibits on the physical demands the circuit made on the lawyers who rode it ("The circuit must be lessened and courts so arranged so that I can see you oftener or I shall quit," Circuit Judge David Davis wrote his wife in 1851). It has an interesting collection of furniture associated with Lincoln. One low-slung table at the courthouse has a square hole sawed out of one side; legend has it the table was altered to make room for Lincoln's long legs.

Unfortunately, only two of the courthouses are original. The wood-frame Postville Courthouse is a reproduction of the original, which Henry Ford bought in 1929 for his Greenfield Village historical park in Dearborn, Mich.

‡‡‡+ Lincoln Log Cabin, R.R. 1. Lerna; 8:30am-dusk; (217) 345-6489. This farmstead south of Charleston was one of Lincoln's regular stops on his circuit rounds. Lincoln's elderly parents lived in a primitive two-room cabin on the farm, known as "Goosenest Prairie." The site also includes another 1840s homestead, the nearby Sargent Farm with its upper-class frame home and more expensive furnishings.

At Lincoln Log Cabin, costumed interpreters reveal 19th century farm life throughout the year in a series of weekend vignettes: spring planting, road work and visits from an intinerant tinker, a traveling preacher, a family of pioneers on its way to Oregon and Lincoln himself.

What makes the site unique is that it is the only place in Illinois where visitors can experience first-person interpretation. The volunteers who "live" at the Lincoln Log Cabin speak in period dialect and profess to know nothing of life after 1845; 20th century questions will earn the visitor a blank stare. First-person presentations can be disconcerting, but most tourists — children especially — enjoy the game after a while.

‡‡+ Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices, 6th and Adams Sts., Springfield: 9am-5pm; (217) 785-7289. Lincoln's Springfield headquarters during his circuit-rider years, the law offices are located in the heart of downtown Springfield at a prestigious business address: one floor up from what was then the only federal courthouse in the state. Unfortunately, the spanking-clean restoration doesn't do justice to contemporary accounts of the cluttered, dirty workspace: One observer described Lincoln's office as being so unkempt that plants were sprouting from the dirt in the corners of the room.

Law partner William Herndon's close relationship with Lincoln apparently didn't include Lincoln's sons Tad and Willie, especially when the rambunctious youngsters accompanied their father to work, "I have felt many a time that I wanted to wring the necks of those brats and pitch them out of the windows," Herndon wrote.

‡‡‡+ Old State Capitol, 5th and Adams Sts., Springfield; 9am-5pm; (217) 785-7960. A stone's throw from Lincoln's office stands one of the state's most beautiful buildings: the Old State Capitol from 1839 to 1876. The weathered Greek Revival structure with its massive columns and stately dome was the center of state government until the present Capitol three blocks to the west was opened in 1876. Later remodelers jacked up the building and built a new first floor on the old foundation. The extra floor and other 20th century additions were removed in 1966, when the state completely dismantled the structure and restored it to its original 1850s appearance.

Abraham Lincoln was a familiar sight in the Old State Capitol's corridors during his Springfield years. He argued many cases in the Supreme Court's chambers, and he launched his 1858 Senate campaign by delivering his famous "House Divided" speech in the Hall of Representatives. After his assassination, more than 75,000 mourners filed past Lincoln's casket as he lay in state there.

The Old State Capitol is a must-see stop on any Springfield tour. Try to visit on Friday or Saturday, when staff spice up the traditional guided tour by wearing authentic 1850s clothing. Scholars will want to head to the basement, where the State Historical Library has an extensive collection of Lincoln books, papers and other artifacts.

‡‡‡‡ Lincoln Home National Historic Site, 8th and Jackson Sts., Springfield; 8:30am-5pm, extended hours Memorial Day-Labor Day; (217) 523-0222. Newly renovated, the home is another of Illinois' don't-miss historical attractions. Run by the National Park Service, the site includes an informative visitors center and a restored four-block section of Lincoln's

February 1992/Illinois Issues/21


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Carl Sandburg Birthplace State Historic Site
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Vachel Lindsay Home State Historic Site
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Hotel Florence-Pullman State Historic Site

old neighborhood, where he lived from 1844 to 1861. Inside the home, visitors' can see the meticulously restored parlor where Republican party leaders plotted the strategy that won Lincoln the presidency. The Lincolns lived in the home for 17 years, and its elegant furnishings (102 of the pieces were originally owned by the family) bely Lincoln's homespun origins and point to his successful legal career.

A movie at the visitors' center and the tour itself give interesting insights into the family's pre-presidential home life. Although admission to the home is free, be prepared for a long wait during summer months. Try to visit in the off-season, when the home is less crowded and rangers have more time to answer questions.

‡‡‡ Lincoln Tomb, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield; 9am-5pm; (217) 782-2717. The third of Springfield's great Lincoln sites is his tomb. The granite monument, topped with an obelisk and statues of Civil War soldiers, was dedicated in 1874. It's surprisingly small on the inside, with a narrow hallway winding past statues of Lincoln to reach the family burial chamber. Lincoln, his wife and three of his sons are entombed here: his eldest son Robert is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Civil War reenactors stage a weekly retreat ceremony outside the tomb in June, July and August. The Historic Preservation Agency is awaiting funds to restore the nearby public receiving vault that held Lincoln's body while the tomb was being built. In early spring the flowering dogwoods and magnolias are spectacular near the old vault.

‡‡ Stephen Douglas Tomb, 636 E. 35th St., Chicago; 9am-5pm; (312) 225-2620. The tomb commemorates Lincoln's chief rival, who defeated him in the 1858 Senate campaign and who died in 1861 trying to help Lincoln rally support for the Union cause. A 10-foot statue of "The Little Giant" stands tall atop the tomb's 46-foot granite column; other statues at the base of the monument commemorate Douglas's career as a statesman.

Bryant Cottage, 146 Wilson St., Bement; 9am-5pm; (217) 678-8184. Historical questions cloud the authenticity of the cottage, but Bryant family tradition says Lincoln and Douglas, a family friend, met in the parlor of the tiny three-room cottage to work out details of their famous 1858 debates. However, some historians maintain the house was not built until after Lincoln's death in 1865.

‡‡+ Ulysses S. Grant Home, 500 Bouthillier St., Galena; 9am-5pm; closed Tues-Wed in Nov, Jan and Feb; (815) 777-0248. One of two sites the state operates in Galena, a northwestern Illinois town that boomed briefly in the first half of the 19th century, the home was presented to the Civil War general as a gift after his victory in 1865. Lead mining and river trading once made the city prosperous; latter-day leaders of Galena have pinned their hopes on the city's beautiful scenery, interesting shops and outstanding collection of historic buildings. The Grant family used the home as a haven during his presidency, and the home is restored with the family's original furnishings.

‡‡ Old Market House, Market Square, Galena; 9am-5pm; closed Tues-Wed in Nov. Jan and Feb; (815) 777-0248. Galena farmers once sold produce, and city officials kept their offices at this site. The 1845 building now plays host to special events and contains an exhibit on Galena's architectural heritage.

‡‡+ David Davis Mansion, 1000 E. Monroe, Bloomington; closed for renovations; (309) 828-1084. The site is an elaborate Victorian estate built in 1872 for Lincoln's circuit-riding companion, Judge David Davis. Davis helped engineer Lincoln's presidential nomination; after the election, Lincoln named Davis to the U.S. Supreme Court. The mansion has been closed for more than a year for an extensive restoration that will add modern heating and air-conditioning and open up servants' areas of the house never before seen by the public. The home is scheduled to reopen this December.

‡‡‡ "New" State Capitol, 2nd and Capitol Ave., Springfield; 8am-4pm weekdays, 9am-3:30pm Sat-Sun; (217) 782-2099. Although not run as a historic site, Illinois' present Capitol is well worth a visit. When the General Assembly is in session, tourists can watch history being made (and their tax money being spent) from the House and Senate galleries, or try to catch a lawmaker's eye as movers and shakers congregate at the third-floor brass rail outside the chambers. Guided tours of the building are available; don't miss the elaborate paintings in the former Supreme Court chambers and in Room 400 (both now used as Senate committee rooms) and the three-story painting of George Rogers Clark meeting with Indian chiefs, a rendering as colorful as it is inaccurate. Calling ahead to the Secretary of State's Office or your local legislator can net the savvy visitor a behind-the-scenes tour of the Capitol dome. A nearby visitors' center between College and Pasfield streets has parking, picnic areas and information on other buildings in the Capitol complex.

‡‡ Carl Sandburg Birthplace, 313 E. Third St., Galesburg; 9am-5pm; (309) 342-2361. Feeling literary? Make a stop at the home of the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and Lincoln biographer. A gallery attached to the home displays Sandburg's typewriter and other memorabilia. An upcoming renovation will move the gallery to a visitors' center next door, currently home to a gift shop and small video theater that features excerpts from a play about Sandburg's life and rare footage of the poet reading his own works.

Hotel Florence, (111th St. at Cottage Grove Ave., Chicago; 11am-2pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat, 10am-3pm Sun; (312) 785-8181. Acquired in 1990, the 139-room hotel is the first phase of an ongoing project that will recreate one of the most significant industrial developments in late 19th century America. Railroad magnate George Pullman built the hotel in 1881 as part of his planned community of Pullman, where thousands of workers and their families lived and built railroad cars. The bitter 1894 Pullman Strike was an important chapter in U.S. labor history but spelled the beginning of the end for the town. The state's long-range plan calls for restoring the Pullman factory and associated buildings; hopes are that it would then become one of the state's largest and most-visited historic sites.

*‡‡‡+ Dana-Thomas House, 301 E. Lawrence Ave., Springfield; 9am-4pm; closed Mon-Tues, Jan-March; (217) 782-6776. An outstanding example of early 20th century architecture is the newly restored home of Springfield socialite Susan Lawrence Dana. She had asked architect Frank Lloyd Wright to design a new home for her in 1902; the result was a long, low masterpiece of Prairie School design. The home is unique because it has the most comprehensive collection of Wright-designed furniture, art-glass windows and light fixtures to be found in any of his buildings. The best time to visit the Dana-Thomas House is in December, when the home is lavishly decorated for Christmas. (True Wright aficionados must visit the arhitect's former home and studio in Oak Park. The home gives fascinating insights into Wright's complex, controversial personality and several other famous homes of his design are also nearby.)

‡+ Vachel Lindsay Home, 603 S. 5th St., Springfield; (217) 524-0901; open Saturdays only, June 1-Aug 31. Built in 1840, the home was the birthplace of the Illinois poet as well as the scene of his suicide in 1931.

‡‡+ Illinois Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield; 8am-8pm Apr-Oct, 8am-6pm Nov-March; (217) 782-2717. One of the newest of the sites administered by the Historic Preservation Agency, the memorial was built with a combination of state and private funds and features five black granite walls radiating outward from a central eternal flame. The walls represent the five military services and are inscribed with the names of 2,967 Illinois servicemen who died or are still missing in action. As at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, visitors leave poems, photographs and flowers at the monument in memory of friends and family members killed in the war.

Rusty Ayers is a freelance writer who lives in Niantic. A 1984 graduate of Sangamon State University's Public Affairs Reporting program, he worked in United Press International's State Capitol and Champaign bureaus before falling victim to the troubled wire service's cutbacks. Ayers is also a member of the Northwest Territory Alliance, a Revolutionary War reenactment group based in Racine, Wis.

22/February 1992/lllinois Issues


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